The Richland Parish Sheriff's Office has detained 13 people entering Meta's data center construction site in Louisiana, before releasing them to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

As reported by The Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate, this adds to the two arrests of workers driving dump trucks to the site last week.

Posting to Facebook, the Sheriff's office said: "This morning, deputies with the Richland Parish Sheriff’s Office focused enforcement efforts on commercial truck traffic entering the Meta construction site. During these traffic stops, thirteen individuals were stopped for traffic violations and found to be unlawfully present in the United States. All individuals were detained and released to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

"None of the individuals detained possessed a valid Louisiana driver’s license. The individuals were from Venezuela, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. One individual from Venezuela requested voluntary return to their home country due to the current regime change and was processed through Immigration and Customs Enforcement."

The US is currently offering those illegally in the country $1,000 and a free flight to self-deport.

The construction site is for a 4 million sq ft (371,610 sqm) data center campus on some 2,250 acres of former Richland Parish farmland. Plans for the data center campus emerged in December 2024, with seemingly up to nine buildings planned. Construction is expected to be ongoing through to 2030.

The Department of Homeland Security has increased raids on construction sites and factories as part of a broader crackdown on illegal immigration. Last September, law enforcement raided the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, detaining more than 300 Korean workers.

ICE operations have ramped up in cities across the country, leading to protests and clashes. Earlier this month, American citizen Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent.